Overlapping and conflicting interests. The interests of patients (top circle), doctors (left circle), and health plans (right circle) may overlap to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the actors and the circumstances. Employers' interests are likely to be approximated by plans' interests, as plans in a competitive market respond to buyers. Physicians should be both empowered and motivated to continually increase the size of area A; the more that their interests and the interests of patients (sick and well) overlap, the greater the likelihood of decision making that maximizes patient well-being. Plans may try to increase area C, by aligning financial incentives for physicians to correspond with greater profit (or other organizational goals) in order to ensure that physicians make decisions in the plan's interest. Plans may also strive to increase area B, for instance, by cutting physician reimbursement, in order to make the plan more attractive to potential enrollees. Ideally, area D is large, representing the confluence of plan, patient, and doctor interests, and all three parties strive to continually increase it.